Pedro Grifol has just been fired and it couldn’t be any less surprising. The Chicago White Sox are in shambles, their record is terrible, and they’re on a historical slide. Of course, someone had to bear the brunt of it and if we know anything about baseball – it is the manager who takes the hit. But it wasn’t just the on-field product that was going downhill, even behind the scenes the team had given up on Grifol.

One way or the other the Chicago White Sox are doomed. They are coming off a 21-game losing streak – the longest in the franchise’s history. On top of that, the team is currently sitting at a 28-89 record – perhaps ready to challenge modern-era’s worst record – 120 losses by the New York Mets. Despite all of this, Pedro Grifol continued to deny anything wrong backstage but his firing has shown that was not the case.

Pedro Grifol’s firing comes amid a great struggle

Chris Getz, the White Sox’s GM has explained why he came to this decision. “Our team’s performance this season has been disappointing on many levels,” Getz said. “Despite the on-field struggles and lack of success, we appreciate the effort and professionalism Pedro and the staff brought to the ballpark every day…Unfortunately, the results were not there, and a change is necessary.” Getz’s statement doesn’t paint a surprising picture of this situation. After all, Grifol’s two years weren’t that successful.

Pedro Grifol became the manager of the White Sox in November 2022. He was endorsed by the veteran Tony La Russa, who had taken the team to an 81-81 campaign in 2022. But from the beginning things were quite shaky for Grifol. In his first season, he finished with an astonishingly low 61-101 record. However, the worst was yet to come (that was a surprise). 

The Chicago White Sox had already planned a rebuild for 2024 so a big turnaround was not expected. Still, most had predicted them to at least stay competitive and have a better record than 2023. But all hell broke loose and the bottom fell out (and all the other extreme situations) for them in 2024. 22 losses welcomed them right at the beginning of this season. That was just a trailer, the real picture kept unfolding as the season went on. Now, they’re looking for a major change but one can’t deny the stench of Grifol’s tenure remains firm. 

Did the players turn on the former White Sox manager?

A few days ago a report emerged that didn’t paint a good picture of Pedro Grifol’s leadership. The report alleged that Grifol had told the players that it wasn’t he who was at fault for this poor season, it was them the players. According to USA Today, multiple players had attested to this situation but Pedro Grifol has continued to deny it till his firing.

“Anybody that knows me, that’s been around me for the last year and a half here, knows that’s not something I would say,” Grifol said to reporters. He deemed it as rumors that are bound to arise after a team struggles like the ChiSox. But then, the team’s performance does show that the players did have some issues with him. Despite Grifol’s words of encouragement and motivation, the team couldn’t perform as well as they could. 

So as of now, Pedro Grifol’s dream is no longer real. The Chicago White Sox are staring at a new era, one that they hope would be better than the nadir that they’ve just experienced. But will it happen? That is for all of us to see.